Is the grass really greener?

If you scroll down a bit, you'll see the other side of this tote. The pasta one. Pasta and cheese.

I used to take multiple views of one item and collage them. Then I realised that the pics were too small and just took one but this tote has a different front/back so it merits another post.

:-)

I would like some Carbonara, please?

DS does a mean Carbonara. He likes it with the Fairprice back bacon (less fat) and San Remo vegeroni spirals. I like it when DS prepares it, I just don't like the mess after, LOL!

Nesshome print (pasta and cheese). I didn't take a pic of the cheese. DS chose it to go with the pasta. Fully lined with panel of pockets inside. Double handles again. I'm starting to like double handles though it means I have to restock my webbing soon.

Have a blessed morning!

DEAR season again!

16 Nov 2013 to 31 Jan 2014

It's that time of the year again when you can Drop Everything And Read. During this DEAR season, you can borrow double the number of books. What best to make than a library bag :-)

Fully lined and reversible (other side is red and white stripes) and made from cotton linen. I've included both shoulder and hand cary handles. There are no pockets for this because it's difficult to stuff books into a bag and pockets get in the way. Instead, there's a little D-ring near the handles that I can use to hook on a wristlet or keys or whatever. Fun!

Have a blessed morning!

Journal de Paris

This has a very zakka feel to it. I like its simple and retro look, made out of Japanese cotton/linen. Lots of pockets inside (4 plus 2 pen slips). I wasn't sure what to make of this when I bought it 'cos the Journal de Paris print is rather wide, too wide/narrow for a clutch. I decided to add a bit more colour and expand the width so that this is a wraparound print. 'Twas a bit troublesome to switch between oatmeal and red thread to top-stitch but I'm glad I went through that effort :-)

Have a blessed day!

Playing catch up

Haven't been updating this blog in a while. Had some posts on Facebook though :-)

Made these from the Prima Deli's box. Think it was DD's PC13 from there. I like this cake box 'cos the cardboard's rather thick and laminated on one side. I'm running out of antique bronze O-wires. Will have to use baby blue and pink soon.

iPad sleeve. First one ever. I find it funny 'cos one of the reasons for starting this blogshop was to earn enough to buy an iPad. After a while, we didn't track the revenue/expenses. The desire for an iPad waned. T'was only when DD needed one for school that we finally bought one. LOL! 

These are the Chan Luu-inspired leather wrapped bracelets that are the rage now. Simple to make but so tedious 'cos I used slippery beading string to wrap. You can't see from this pic but I used a 2-hole flower button as the catch. Notice the beads? The larger ones cost less than half those on the right. Don't know why, not familiar with these type of beads.

Zipper pencil cases. Simple in design but lots of manual work to ensure alignment.

CNY mandarin orange carrier.

Fuchsia crochet tote with leather handles. 100% cotton yarn

Blue/green crochet tote with leather handles. Cotton/linen blend yarn.

Grabbed this floral fat quarter when I saw it. Pic doesn't do justice to it's colours (I don't know how to fix it to show the true colours). Paired it with pink gingham. Both are cotton/linen blend so I had a hard time flipping the tote right side out. This is a different size from the other reversible totes 'cos I only had 1 fat quarter. The others are slightly wider than half a fat quarter.

Have a blessed day!

DEAR season

I like this time of the year, it's DEAR season :-)

Drop Everything And Read is on (has been on) till 31 Jan 2013 and you can borrow twice the usual number of books.

I used to lug DS' and DD's books till I told them that if they want to read, they'll have to carry their own books. Grin! Thing is, it's cold and wet weather here so I'll bring a jacket and brolly when I go out and with the extra books, I need a large enough bag to hold everything. Actually, this is my excuse. I've made many bags but I wanted one for myself and when I saw this cotton-linen blend in a retro print, I made one :-)

Have a blessed day!

ps: Library's closed today 'cos it's a public holiday but it'll be open tomorrow :-)

pps: If you have a Passion Card, please go activate your free premium membership. More books!

Fusion

These are twin totes made from Northcott laminate. I like laminates 'cos of it's waterproof feature but they're not easy to handle. I can't pin 'cos there'll be holes and this fabric doesn't feed well into the sewing machine. It's rather stiff as a fabric and turning it inside out is a challenge. I still like laminates though.

Have a blessed day!

Dizzying stripes

Two denim totes for DD and me. DS doesn't like stripes.

These are large enough to put A4 files in and with the many pockets (2 large ones in front, 2 large ones back, panel inside), we can carry many stuff around. DD prefer to carry hers without the detachable strap. I prefer mine attached 'cos sometimes I use the over the shoulder straps, sometimes I use the longer one.

I think I'll make more of these if I can find the right thick fabric - canvas or denim. I wonder if oxford will work as well?

Some other design considerations:

flap covers for the outside pockets with the snaps on the flaps

swivel hook on the inside to snap on key rings

zipper pocket

shorter handles for handcarry

zipper closure for main body

Have a blessed day!

What's your favourite colour?

I like yellow, DS likes red and DD likes green.

I paired this yellow canvas with a brown one so that the dirt doesn't show up so easily when placed on the floor. There are two big pockets in front and two at the back. One panel of pockets inside means lots of compartments to put all your stuff :-)

I was a bit hesitant to use silver rivets and snaps 'cos I thought brass ones would be nicer but I only had silver hardware for the strap so that determined the colour. Turned out rather well, IMHO. :-)

Have a blessed day!

Sneaks: Crochet bags

I made some of these recently and some months ago. I still have lots of the cream and denim blue yarn left. It's from a cone and I like yarn on a cone 'cos you can knit / crochet on and on and on and not have to join yarn. No loose ends to weave in and no unsightly bumps, well, none, if you do it properly :-)

Have a blessed day!

Yesterday was Earth Day

I didn't do anything particularly green yesterday 'cos it was Earth Day. I did, however, make this as a response to an article in today's newspapers that the supermarts will be charging for plastic bags.

While I'm a supporter of BYOB, I wonder how I'm going to settle the problem of mandatory by law bagging of rubbish 'cos I've been using the supermart plastic bags.

Anyway...

I've had this Debi Hron for Timeless Treasures fabric for a while. It's a bit bright for me but I thought I'd use it for this fold-away shopper bag. It's unlined but with no exposed / raw seams. All stress points have been reinforced so that it can take heavy loads. The pocket is just right for folding the body and handles away and tucking into. I think I'll put up instructions later if there's a request.

Have a blessed day!

Tutorial : Round bottom crochet tote

I completed this at the NUS bazaar yesterday, in between sales. Made from Lion Cotton that I found at home that I cannot remember when I bought. I thought I'd share how to make this with you 'cos I've had some queries but the thing is, I don't have a pattern. I crochet on the go so if you have any doubts about this pattern, send me an email and I'll try to paraphrase. The assumption is that you know the basics of crochet. Else, I suggest you pick up some books from the library like how I learnt or watch youtube :-)

ch - chain stitch

sc - single crochet

hdc - half double crochet

dc - double crochet

Summary : This base is 10 concentric circles followed by a sc and then hdc's till the desired height is achieved and then the rounded handles are made.

Base

Round 1: Make a loop, 2ch then 15dc. Pull loop to close gap. Total 16 stitches.

Round 2 : 2ch, 2dc into next hole, (1 dc then 2dc)*repeat till end. Total 24 stitches.

Round 3 : 2ch, dc, 2dc into next hole, (2dc then 2dc)*repeat till end. You'll realise that you've been increasing stitches above the previous row's increased stitch. Continue like this till Round 10.

Side

Sc then hdc till desired height is achieved.

Handles

Turn work to back and sc 9 sts back and forth for 4 rows. On 5th row, instead of flipping work, join other side to make a round and continue like this till desired length of handle achieved. Turn work over and sc back and forth for 4 rows and sc onto the side of the tote. Sc along the rim till location of next handle and repeat. Cut yarn and weave in.

Enjoy!

Going solo

This Monday and Tuesday BunnyBags, Tobias' Shoppe and Tiffany's Shoppe will be at NUS Central Forum. It's the first solo bazaar after several with Little Statement who kindly offered to share their table at KKH with me. 

This time round, I'll be having a 3ft x 3ft table and 2 chairs. I'm not sure which stall I'll be at 'cos there are some changes. I'll know when I'm there, LOL!

These are some mini totes. They are reversible so you can use the polka dots side on the outside. All are different and I might just make some more depending on my mood and time available. Yes, I have these already cut and placed somewhere in the blackhole sewing basket. These were made last year but I can't remember why I've not brought them to KKH bazaars or listed them in Tiffany's Shoppe. Odd.

Do drop by if you're near NUS.

See you and have a blessed day!

Hmm, is this it?

Once in a while I get rather precise requirements for a customized item. Choosing the exterior fabric's fine with me, even the lining too. The design is fine with me too, provided I can make it. It's the dimensions that I have a concern with. Thing is, I sew on a wing and prayer. If you've been reading my blog, you'd have realized that I only have two templates for the stuff I sew. Two cardboard templates that I use to trace out the fabric before cutting. All others are by mathematical calculations and estimations. I do thank God that I have very understanding customers!

So, what I'm trying to disclaim is this. While I'll try hard to achieve what you desire, I'd err on the side of caution and make it a bit larger. There are dependencies on the materials, sometimes, that some fabrics have more 'give' than others or extra padding/interfacing is needed etc. 

This was a drawstring tote for a customer's instamax camera. This camera's all the rage now with it's Polaroid-like features. I hope it fits 'cos I tried to follow the dimensions requested for. I don't know 'cos I don't have an instamax camera and anyway, I've already mailed this out. Dear customer, maybe you can send me a pic and I can put it in the gallery? *grin*
Oh, I wonder if you've realised that it's reversible...LOL!

Have a blessed evening!

Gone swimming

DD started swimming few months back but it was only today that I thought to make a waterproof bag for her  to carry all her barang barang.
She has 2 boards, one for arms, one for feet, she says. Wet bag for her swimsuit (can't remember if I posted an entry on this), drawstring bag for change of clothes (nor this?) and .... aha! A plastic bag for her slippers. Hmmm, maybe I should make a waterproof shoe bag for her too? Alas, there isn't enough material for that 'cos this tote took up almost 1 yard of fabric. You can't tell from the pic but the handles are 4-ply so there's more fabric than meets the eye. I added a panel of pockets and reinforced the handles.
Have a blessed weekend!

Blitz

Some days are productive days, some days are quieter. Some days just have accumulated stuff that I didn't take pics of and I just want to put them all in 1 post :-)

First up, these are 2 handbound notebooks. Made them for the fun of it 'cos I like the Mickey Musical Festival brochure. It's so colourful and cheerful that I saved it for this purpose rather than throw it into the paper recycling pile. The Citibank brochure was chosen 'cos it's the season for mooncakes and there is an accordion fold at the back of the book that will open up and show the myriad of mooncake deals. Both have paper from sustainable forests and are bound using the saddle stitch.  

 Two zipper pouches here. I still have a number to go. No complaints 'cos it's getting more fun as I sew. Now that DD's CA2 is over, she can help me with the pairing of lining and zips :-)
These 2 made from fabric from Korea, Japan and Australia. Fully lined with coordinating fabric and interfaced.

Yuwa fabric from Japan. Cute patterns printed in rectangles all over the fabric. Wonder if it'll look nice as zipper pouches? Oxford cotton exterior lined with calico. Fully lined and interfaced with panel of pockets inside, 5 in total of which 2 are for pens. A4 landscape orientation with chocolate brown heavyweight cotton webbing straps.
Have a blessed evening!

Seeing the light of day

I put this pic up earlier on facebook asking if anyone recognised it. It's a pic of 4 panels meant for fully-lined pockets for 2 A4 totes. I used to make pockets unlined, as in fold down the top and sew it neat but I've come to prefer fully-lined pockets. The finish is much nicer and I think they are sturdier than their unlined cousins. Time to bring them out into the open than leave them inside?

Anyway, on to the A4 totes:

Two A4 portrait totes. Fully lined and interfaced with those panels above sewn as pockets. I didn't count how many there were, at least 8 big and small ones? Long cotton webbing for carrying over the shoulder. Made from Japanese cotton/linen blend and Korean cotton. Lining is calico.

Have a blessed day!

Big prints

I normally shy away from big floral prints but this Kono Sanae canvas was so pretty that I made a large tote out of it. Added a large patch pocket almost as big as one side and secured it with a chocolate metal snap. This large patch covers a smaller patch pocket so that it's more accessible without having to lower the strap to get at things. Another panel of pockets inside as usual. Fully lined with calico but not interfaced since it's canvas.

Have a blessed day!

United nations

Before I go fabric shopping again, I decided to do a quick stock take of what fabrics I have on hand. I buy in bulk to get the deep discounts but this has led to a huge mess inventory of odd-shaped pieces of fabric. I didn't know how much fabric I had but I decided to make a flat patchwork tote out of unique squares (4.5cm x 4.5cm).

112 squares later I decided to stop even though I have more fabric still that I didn't cut squares from. LOL! Fabrics were from Japan, Korea, US, Australia and I don't know where. Used the final gifted cotton webbing for this tote. Plain for the patchwork and printed cherries for the linen / cherry side. Included a patch pocket from cherry fabric as well as a cut-out zip compartment which has a pocket inside as well as a pen slip. DD chose the bear zipper pull. It's cute and double-sided so you get the bear front on both sides. And it's solid metal so it's heavier than usual.
Have a blessed day!

ps: I wonder how much fabric I really have...hmmmm.....
pps: sorry for the washed out look. Don't know why the pics are like that, maybe 'cos of the hazy overcast sky? The colours are much richer than they look :-)
ppps: I just realised that I put the same patchwork side in the pic though I took both sides. LOL! Maybe I'll retake and give you richer colours, ah?

Purple passion

Made this roomy tote for mum who likes purple and flowers (orchids, especially) out of 2 Yuwa prints. The purple floral one has a very soft hand and I paired it with the much sturdier herbs so that I don't need to use interfacing for bag structure. Included a panel of fully-lined pockets as usual and use printed cotton webbing for the handles. This tote can be used either with the purple flowers/printed handles or cream herbs/cream handles (with pockets on the outside).